Advantages

Disadvantages

First of all, before I get a multitude of comments saying this in the wrong category, let me beat you all to it by acknowledging that it might well be, and that if it isn’t, I’m not sure where it should be! The restaurant I want to write about is in the London BOROUGH of Southwark, in Camberwell, but as there is no category for restaurants in Camberwell or nearby Peckham this seemed about the only place for this op, so I hope it’s acceptable. The Mozzarella E Pomodoro restaurant in Camberwell is absolutely wonderful, I can’t recommend it highly enough. My first visit was a lunchtime one. After a mad girlie night out, a friend and I decided to soothe our hangovers with some pasta and vast quantities of mineral water, and were absolutely delighted with the delicious food and attentive service. There’s a set lunchtime menu for £7.95, but we both ordered from the main menu as we were craving pasta! I tried the seafood linguine which was delicious, my friend opted for the lasagne which certainly looked and smelled superb. The sweets trolley is simply sublime. We both indulged in the exquisite tiramisu and it truly is to die for. After this first visit, I was dying to take my other half there for an evening meal as I was sure he’d be impressed. We finally made it there this Friday after work. We were both exhausted after a long and difficult week and were looking to be pampered and indulged – and this restaurant turned out to be the perfect place! I was in a better physical state and frame of mind for this visit and was able to fully appreciate the experience. The waiter who greeted us was pleasant and obliging and was able to find us a table very quickly despite the fact that we hadn’t reserved one. This excellent service continued throughout the evening; the waiters/waitresses anticipated our needs perfectly, topping up our wine glasses whenever we neared the end and discreetly making thei r way towards us whenever it looked as though we needed anything. The wine list was impressive and catered for all tastes. We opted for a bottle of Australian Chardonnay and it was exactly as it was described on the list – light and aromatic with a pleasant aftertaste. The meal itself – what can I say? Absolutely perfect. We agonized over the menu for at least fifteen minutes - there's so much to choose from and it all sounded wonderful. Specials that day included such as a selection of fresh fish and wild duck with cranberry sauce, it was so hard to choose! I eventually ordered mussels to start with and my partner ordered pastrami and parma ham with melon – both were superb. My mussels were served in a tomato and garlic sauce which was delicious, and plenty of fresh bread was supplied to mop up the sauce – which I did with gusto! If anything the starters were a little on the large side, which neither I or my partner, being hearty eaters, had a problem with, but those with smaller tummies might have found it hard to accommodate a starter and a main course. For the main course I had what was quite simply the best piece of fish I’ve ever tasted – sea bream in a white wine sauce with tender baby vegetables and roast potatoes. The waiter deboned my fish at the table and he did it very well indeed – there were no bones left lurking in there afterwards. My partner had a fillet steak in a wild mushroom sauce – I tried this and it was gorgeous; the sauce tasted really mushroomy and the steak was cooked exactly as it had been asked for – medium to well done. Unfortunately, neither of us had room for dessert, which was a real shame as the tiramisu had made another appearance on the sweets trolley and was accompanied by some droolsome profiteroles, but there was no way we could fit it in. Instead we both ordered coffee, which was fresh and hot. I could fault nothing a bout this restaurant, everything was exactly how I would have wanted it and we both left with a warm glow and a resolve to return as soon as we could. It’s not even particularly expensive – we paid £70 including a £20 bottle of wine. I’d highly recommend this place for a special night out with friends or a romantic dinner. The atmosphere was relaxed but lively at the same time, and the staff create an environment in which you are treated like royalty but in a really unpretentious way – I loved it, and will definitely be going back soon. It beats many West End restaurants hands down.